VOA慢速英语--特朗普提名卡瓦诺为美国最高法院大法官

Who is Brett Kavanaugh, Trump¹’s Nominee² to the Supreme³ Court?

United States Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh started working to secure his place on the high court Tuesday.

Kavenaugh is meeting with senators to ask for their support. The U.S. Senate votes on nominees⁴ to be Justices on the Supreme Court. A simple majority is required.

President Donald Trump selected Kavanaugh to replace retiring 81-year-old Justice Anthony Kennedy. It is likely to be one of the more important decisions of his presidency⁵.

"There is no one in America more qualified⁶ for this position, or more deserving,” the president said. Trump spoke⁷ during the television announcement of the nomination⁸ from the White House East Room on Monday. He called Kavanaugh a "brilliant jurist" who has "devoted⁹ his life to public service.

The 53-year-old Kavanaugh has served as a federal judge for 12 years. And, he has been part of some highly disputed legal cases.

Before he was a judge, he ran an investigation¹⁰ into the death of a deputy adviser¹¹ to President Bill Clinton. It was ruled a suicide, but some people dispute this.

Later, he worked on Bill Clinton’s impeachment¹² over a sexual relationship with a White House intern¹³.

He also took part in legal action over the vote recount in the state of Florida during the 2000 presidential election. He later joined the administration of President George W. Bush.

Strong reactions from members of both parties

Trump’s choice was met with predictable reactions from Republicans and Democrats¹⁴.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called Kavanaugh "an impressive" nominee who is "well qualified" to sit on the nation's highest court.

Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called him a "candidate worthy¹⁵ of the Senate's consideration." Grassley’s committee will hold hearings on Kavanaugh's nomination before it goes to a vote before the full Senate.

Democrats are worried that Kavanaugh will join with the court's other four conservative members to reverse legalized abortion¹⁶ in the United States. Abortion became legal in 1973 in a famous case known as Roe¹⁷ versus¹⁸ Wade¹⁹. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has promised to protect abortion rights. He said he would work to defeat Kavanaugh, in his words, “with everything I have.”

Other Democrats are worried about Kavanaugh’s written opinion that a President should not face legal action for a crime while in office.

They believe that Special Counsel Robert Mueller may try to make the president testify in his investigation of the Trump campaign's possible links to Russia. They say Trump might be accused of a crime.

The case would then go to the Supreme Court.

Kavanaugh: 'Humbled²⁰'

At the announcement, Kavanaugh stood with his wife and two daughters and said he was “humbled” by the nomination. He described how his mother was a trailblazer who went to law school and later became a trial judge. His father went to law school at night, he added.

“Tomorrow I begin meeting with members of the Senate,” he said, “If confirmed by the Senate, I will keep an open mind in every case."

Republicans hope to confirm Kavanaugh before the court begins its session in October.

However, his selection will start a major confirmation²¹ battle in the U.S. Senate. Republicans hold a narrow 51-49 majority. Democrats say they will fight to prevent the high court from becoming too conservative.

No middle position

Justice Kennedy was often a member of five-to-four majority decisions on the high court. Those included a number of disputed cases, including ones supporting same-sex marriage and a woman's right to an abortion.

Jonathan Turley is a George Washington University constitutional law professor. He says that without Kennedy, the Supreme Court has strong left and strong right positions, but no one in the middle.

The Supreme Court sits at the top of the judicial²² branch of government. The two other branches are represented by the presidency and Congress. But, unlike presidents or members of Congress, Supreme Court justices do not have term limits — they serve until they resign or die.

So Trump’s pick could affect the court’s decisions for many years into the future.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

qualify – v. to have the necessary skill or knowledge to do a particular job or activity

deserve – v. to have the necessary skill or knowledge to do a particular job or activity

brilliant – adj. highly intelligent

intern – n. an unpaid²³ assistant, usually still a student

impressive – adj. deserving attention, admiration²⁴, or respect

reverse – v. to go in the opposite direction

abortion – n. the removal of a fetus²⁵ from a woman’s uterus

testify – v. to give evidence in a court

trailblazer – n. a person who makes, does, or discovers something new and makes it acceptable or popular

resonate – v. to have particular meaning or importance for someone

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

5 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

6 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

9 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

11 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

12 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

13 intern   

v.拘禁，软禁；n.实习生

参考例句：

• I worked as an intern in that firm last summer.去年夏天我在那家商行实习。
• The intern bandaged the cut as the nurse looked on.这位实习生在护士的照看下给病人包扎伤口。

14 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

16 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

17 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

18 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

19 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

20 humbled   

adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低

参考例句：

• The examination results humbled him. 考试成绩挫了他的傲气。
• I am sure millions of viewers were humbled by this story. 我相信数百万观众看了这个故事后都会感到自己的渺小。

21 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

22 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

23 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

24 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

25 fetus   

n.胎，胎儿

参考例句：

• In the fetus,blood cells are formed in different sites at different ages.胎儿的血细胞在不同时期生成在不同的部位。
• No one knows why a fetus is not automatically rejected by the mother's immune system. 没有人知道为什么母亲的免疫系统不会自动排斥胎儿。